Acer shows off next-gen Iconia Tab A210 and A110 at Computex, we go hands-on (video)
No press release, no media alert, not even a splashy press conference with Adele blasting in the background. The only reason we know these two tablets exist is because we happened to catch them on display here at Computex. What we have here are the Acer Iconia Tab A210 and A110, presumably the successors to the 10-inch A200 and the 7-inch A100. Apart from a wholesale redesign, which we'll walk you through after the break, both tablets have been upgraded to quad-core Tegra 3 processors and will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich. An Acer rep staffing the event said both are scheduled to go on sale sometime in Q3. No word on pricing or regional availability just yet, but if you accompany us past the break we've got impressions, two hands-on videos and a run-down of tentative specs. %Gallery-157268%
Iconia Tab A210
Your first clue that the A210 is destined to be a low-to-mid range tablet? It's missing a rear-facing camera, just like the A200. Indeed, most of the other specs appear to remain the same: this has a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800), which we've been led to believe is not IPS (that's fine, though, since we've generally been pleased with the viewing angles on Acer's 10-inch tablets). There's still a USB 2.0 port and microSD slot, just like on the previous model. The battery capacity has held steady at 3,620mAh. As for storage, the on-site spec sheet listed 8GB and 16GB models. The big difference between this and the last-gen model, it seems, is that this packs a quad-core, not dual-core chip.
All told, this feels like a seasonal spec bump to us, though Acer also took the opportunity to tweak the design, trading in that soft-touch finish for a harder plastic back with a fine dot pattern. The model we saw was white -- it's unclear if you'll have more choices beyond that.
Iconia Tab A110
Acer must've caught a lot of flack for the A100's soft design, because the aesthetic here is a lot more gender-neutral. Which is to say, it's pretty plain-Jane, with a matte, scratch- and finger-print resistant gray back. We can only guess the A110 is going to be as aggressively priced as its predecessor, because anyone who buys this will have to make a few compromises on design: the chassis is fairly chunky, at 11.4mm thick, and the bezel is wide. The 7-inch, 1024 x 600 display also doesn't offer great viewing angles.
Inside, you'll find that Tegra 3 processor, of course, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD). If you peek our hands-on video you can see the performance in this early build is on par with what you'd expect from a mid-tier device, which we expect this is. Naturally, there's no full-size USB port on this smaller model, though you will find run-of-the-mill micro-HDMI and micro-USB connectors.
That's all we know for the time being, but we'll be sure to keep you posted with more details as we learn them. For now, enjoy our hands-on photos and if you have a few minutes, two walk-through videos.
Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
